Deere Day at Illinois 2024
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hosted John Deere for Deere Day at Illinois in September 2024. Deere Day events were held on the Grainger College of Engineering quad and the University of Illinois College of ACES library where students had the opportunity to meet with agriculture, engineering, and tech professionals as well as explore different career paths at John Deere. Several alumni were in attendance, allowing students the opportunity to learn about their experience transitioning from an Illinois student to a full-time John Deere employee. Students spent one-on-one time with Deere employees, which is an important process for interested students to learn more about the company, culture, and engineering industry.
Three exhibits were set up across the engineering and ACES quads. Eight Deere machines and 20 displays were available for students to explore and experience firsthand. Additionally, students got to try their hand at an excavator simulator. Our students participated in hands-on learning and connected with full-time employees, which is important for students to experience what it’s like to work at Deere and with Deere employees. Partnerships like this are crucial to Illinois in setting our students up for success.
The John Deere Technology Innovation Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Research Park focuses on delivering customer-centered solutions from the corn production system through focused research and acceleration incubation. John Deere is a world leader in providing advanced products and services, and they are dedicated to driving technology in an environment of collaboration and innovation. At Illinois, John Deere hires world-class interns to solve the most complex engineering problems facing today’s agricultural industry, creating a talent-pipeline and offering experiential learning opportunities for the students. Collaboration with Illinois faculty research, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, student programs such as the City Scholars program, and registered student organizations is crucial to ensure the collaboration between John Deere and Illinois properly prepares students interested in the agricultural industry.
